After years of working as a lawyer, Perry Mason (Raymond Burr) has advanced to the position of judge in appellate court. When an unpopular businessman is murdered, the evidence points to Mason's old friend and secretary, Della Street (Barbara Hale). Mason decides to resign from his current position in order to defend Street at trial. With the help of private investigator Paul Drake Jr. (William Katt), the son of another Mason colleague, Perry closes in on the real killer.